The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN) is pleased to announce that its project "Diversity & Achievement in Anglophone Quebec" has received funding through the Department of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Funding Program, Community Life Component. The amount of the funding, which will be awarded over two fiscal years, is $141,280.

Project summary:
By its nature, English-speaking Quebec is a heterogeneous community. Although it is linked by language and by certain historic, social and political characteristics, in reality the community is a patchwork of distinct ethnic and regional groups -- some with surprisingly unique histories, cultures and outlooks, but all of them linked by their identification with Anglophone Quebec.

Over the course of 15 months, "Diversity and Achievement in Anglophone Quebec" will explore the historic and ever-evolving make-up of Quebec's English-speaking communities -- the cultural, ethnic, and geographic diversity that is such a hallmark of English-speaking Quebec. How have these groups evolved over time? Why do they identify with the Anglophone community? How do English-speakers across Quebec differ from one another? And how have they contributed to the heritage and culture of contemporary Quebec and Canada?

This initiative, which will be realized in partnership with heritage and cultural partners in several regions of the province, will include a traveling exhibition, conferences, a heritage fair, heritage tours, school visits, online resources, and a new teaching tool for Quebec high schools.

QAHN Executive Director Matthew Farfan is excited this project has been funded. "It will enable QAHN and its partners to call attention to the fact that English-speaking Quebec is not the monolithic entity it is so often perceived to be," he said. "It will be great to highlight the contributions that our various communities have made -- and continue to make -- not only to our history, but also to the modern, ever-evolving society that we call Quebec."

QAHN President Simon Jacobs is grateful for the support from Canadian Heritage. "It is exciting, dynamic projects like this one," he said, "that are helping us to fulfill our mission which is, after all, to promote a greater understanding of the history of Quebec’s diverse English-speaking communities through our activities."